coop
1 Americannoun
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an enclosure, cage, or pen, usually with bars or wires, in which fowls or other small animals are confined for fattening, transportation, etc.
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any small or narrow place.
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Slang. a prison.
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Sometimes Facetious. a cooperative, especially the cooperative bookstore of a college or university.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
idioms
abbreviation
noun
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a cage or small enclosure for poultry or small animals
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a small narrow place of confinement, esp a prison cell
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a wicker basket for catching fish
verb
noun
abbreviation
abbreviation
Other Word Forms
- uncoop verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of coop
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English coupe “basket,” perhaps from Scandinavian or ultimately from Latin cūpa “cask, tub” ( cup ( def. ) ); cognate with Norwegian kaup “wooden can,” Old English cȳpa “basket”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Unlike apartment life, townhouses offer the freedom of full independence: no shared walls, no coop boards or common lobbies, no neighbors above or below,” it read.
From MarketWatch
They also advise that locals keep vehicles free of food, lock doors and windows, and use electric fencing to protect beehives and chicken coops.
From Los Angeles Times
It was no ordinary coop, mind you, for the clever doctor had designed and built it himself.
From Literature
Residents report bears rummaging through trash, raiding chicken coops and—like any good Southern Californian—dipping into backyard pools.
You had an M.B.A. and were living in a chicken coop without running water.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.